Finding a therapist

02 May Finding a therapist

I’m often asked how people can find good therapists that treat anxiety. Here’s how I go about trying to find possible referrals:

1) My first strategy is to find therapists who practice Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, a form of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy that is great for helping anxiety disorders. Go to contextualscience.org for a listing of therapists.

2) The second place I look for therapists is at the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, which has a rigorous credentialing process for CBT therapists (from a broad range of forms of CBT). The Academy’s listing of affiliates is at academyofct.org.

3) The third place I look is on the website for the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. At adaa.org there is also a listing of therapists on the “Finding Help” page.

4) Sometimes I will also look on psychologytoday.com to see if there are therapists that list themselves as being cognitive-behavioral therapists — then I try checking out their websites to look for evidence of this approach. This is hit-or-miss and more time consuming.

Many times people are also able to find local classes on mindfulness at community centers, libraries, yoga studios, and other places. These can be helpful too — I always recommend more physical exercise (see Spark by John Ratey) and mindfulness practice as two first steps in treating anxiety disorders.